Msgr. Chuck Kosanke had run out of options.
He had been sent as pastor to a parish now known as the Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit in 2016 to try to save the twin-spire, brick-and-stone Gothic-Revival church built in 1886, which, after years of deferred maintenance, was in tough shape.
He had experience with that sort of thing — his nickname in the Archdiocese of Detroit is “Mr. Fix-It” — but after trying everything he could think of, he had raised only about $5 million of a projected $26 million needed to restore the church. The parish, though growing, was poor and unable to contribute much.
Msgr. Kosanke felt he had gotten as much from outside donors as he could. Some prospects expressed skepticism that he could raise the amount needed, had concerns their money wouldn’t accomplish the goal, and told him to come back when he had a better plan.
“Now, even though I pray before the Blessed Sacrament every morning, I finally had to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with Jesus,” he told the Register, referring to a time in the spring of 2022. “So one morning I was discouraged because I didn’t see this going anywhere. And
